Saturday will mark the 103rd game played between Ole Miss and LSU, a series that dates back to Dec. 3, 1894 when Ole Miss defeated LSU 26-6 in Baton Rouge. It was the second year that Ole Miss had a football team and the beginning of what would later become a heated rivalry known as the Magnolia Bowl.
“We have seen so many exciting games played between Ole Miss and LSU,” said Langston Rogers, assistant to the Ole Miss athletic director. “During one stretch of time, both teams were ranked in the Top 5 every time they met.”
In fact, the heart of the rivalry came from that stretch of games between 1958 and 1963. Only one team entered the matchup with more than one loss during that period— that was in 1960 when LSU tied No. 2 Ole Miss 6-6. Warner Alford, a McComb native, played on SEC and National Championship Ole Miss teams and served as the school’s athletic director. Alford said he knows the LSU opposition all too well— he played during Ole Miss’ golden era, 1958 to 1960, under legendary Coach Johnny Vaught during a time when freshmen were ineligible, players played both offense and defense and the LSU game was the biggest and baddest of them all.
“It was always a huge game,” Alford said. “We were both strong teams at the time. LSU had good teams and we had good teams.”
The rivalry was special because of the proximity of the schools and the fact that LSU didn’t have an in-state rival. Alford said he remembers playing at a time when Ole Miss had a small stadium without lights. It was a big deal to play at LSU because of their large stadium and their infamous night games. He played on the fated Halloween night of 1959, when LSU player Billy Cannon broke the Rebels’ hearts.
“We were undefeated and they were undefeated,” Alford said. He remembered walking into the stadium and hearing the LSU students yelling “go to hell Ole Miss,” “It was almost like a riot”.
The stadium rippled with energy before kick-off. They played on Halloween night in Tiger Stadium, which turned out to be a lethal combination. The Rebels were ahead by a mere field goal and the game score lulled back and forth. Ole Miss punted the ball to the LSU offense.
“The ball landed inside the 20 yard line,” Alford said. “Normally, he would not have touched the football because it was inside the 10, but the ball bounced to him and he ran the ball back the 89 yards.”
That stroke of fate was returned in the Sugar Bowl shortly after.
“Now, that loss was devastating,” Alford said.
The Rebels did not know at that time that they would make it to the Sugar Bowl, but somehow Coach Vaught did.
“Coach Vaught said ‘Don’t worry, we’re going to get them in the Sugar Bowl,’” Crawford said. “And we did.”
In 2008, the student governments of Ole Miss and LSU voted to pen the yearly game as the “Magnolia Bowl”. The students decided that it would be a great idea to enhance the rivalry in hopes of making it as exciting as it used to be.
“Trophy games are important throughout the nation,” Rogers said. “It’s evident that the students at both schools take pride in this newest tradition between the Rebels and Tigers.”
In 2008, Ole Miss defeated LSU 31-13 in Tiger Stadium to christen the first titled event. Just like any good rivalry, meetings between the two teams never seem to lack a flair for the dramatic. There was a nail-biting 14-12 Ole Miss victory in 1957 and LSU’s 7-3 win in 1959.
In 1964, LSU’s Doug Moreau caught a ball for a two-point conversion winning play. Archie Manning led Ole Miss to back-to-back victories in 1968 and 1969. In 1972, otherwise known as “The Night the Clock Stopped”, Baton Rouge hosted a 17-16 Tigers win with a one second left, one-handed catch by LSU’s Brad Davis. In 2003, Eli Manning tripped on the last play and caused Ole Miss to lose a shot at the SEC West by a mere field goal. Les Miles read the clock incorrectly in 2009 and LSU stormed the field in 2013.
The rivalry ebbs and flows like any good competition should. When one team gets up, the other sits down.
“History tells us that the Ole Mis-LSU rivalry is one of the best in college football,” Rogers said.
LSU fans like to deny that there is a rivalry with Ole Miss, but history begs to differ.
“It is a classic game,” Alford said. “Everyone always talks about this game.”
The Rebels are looking for redemption from last year’s battle with the Tigers and the chance to take back the coveted trophy.
The teams face each other in Vaught-Hemingway this Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
